Favourite Games

[trevor]

On our first meeting way back in September, a lot of people mentioned that they enjoyed playing games in their spare time.  I'm no exception, so I thought I'd create this board for people to talk about games.

What better way to open the games board than to talk about our favourite games of all time?

I'm a big RPG fan.  I grew up playing them on my NES/SNES, and those are probably some of my best memories from childhood:  walking to the gas station, renting an RPG, buying some candy or a slurpee, and staying up late engrossed in them.  Since then I've played countless RPG's, but my favourite are still the old school ones.  Here's my top 5.

  1. Final Fantasy 6
  2. Chrono Trigger
  3. Final Fantasy 4
  4. Lunar: Silver Star Story
  5. Valkyrie Profile

Ah... good memories.  I do like other genres as well.  I used to be crazy about music games, especially Beatmania IIDX and DDR, but that'd died off in recent years.  I also enjoy some casual games, puzzle based especially: I enjoyed Brain Age 1 and 2, and I've playing a fair bit of Picross DS recently.

How 'bout everyone else?

[Katie]

I used to play a ton of RPGs. Final Fantasy series, Xenogears, Valkyrie Profile, Chrono Trigger/Chrono Cross, and just about everything else. Now, I don't have much time for that at all. Now, I just play DDR, Guitar Hero, and a few others.

[brian]

I was raised on Super Mario Bros. 3, and do enjoy playng the classic NES games on emulators (sadly my collection is small and my NES might not have too much life left).  I noticed that on the NES, there were some awesome games, and a lot of terrible ones too.

Ever since I bought Hearts of Iron 2 I have been hooked on the Grand Strategy genre.  In that game, you basically take control of any country starting between 1936 and 1945 (game ends when Stalin dies in 1953) and, well, you know how history goes.  It is played in semi-real time (ie:  1 sec = 1 hr or so depending on your settings) and you can pause at any time to give orders or manage your economy.  I have also been playing a lot of Europa Universalis 3 as of late, which is basically the same thing except between the day after Constantinople fell to Napoleon's time.

I like games that let me think, instead of ones that reward only fast clicking and reaction time.  That is why I suck at FPS and prefer this genre to more traditional RTSs.

[january]

I love word games. Mostly word jumbles. Since forever I've been reading words and sentences backwards to calm me down. It's so therapeutic.

I also really like card games. I get so competitive. I'm a terrible poker player (my face doesn't know how to lie), but I still really dig it.
Also psychologically revealing car games. The kind that end in awkward silence for the remains of the drive. 

[Steve]

I was also raised on games.  I received my NES before I was even in school.  Up until this year I spent hours and hours of my free time on games.  Lately though I have no time or energy for them.  After 8 hours of work, 1.5 hours of working out, and 2 hours of Rabbit care, I am sooo tapped out. 

However I still have my favorites when it comes to games.  I have so many, but I'll list my top 5 in no special order:

1.) Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion -> Any game where you have Sean Bean AND Patrick Stewart doing voices is a good game

2.) The Legacy of Kain Series: I have played through every one of them, and was completely engrossed by them.  Incredible voice acting!

3.) Diablo II : Tonnes of items, secrets, and online play.  This game is getting on in years but it has still set the bar.

4.) Mega Man II: Quite possibly my all time favorite NES Game.  8-bit music at its pinnacle, and cool badass bosses.

5.) Super Smash Bros. (all versions): No button mashing, no ridiculous move combos, no memorizing secret SF codes to unlock Shin-Akuma, a game anyone can pick up and play, with tonnes of bonuses, award statues, and amazing multiplayer mayhem.  I am on pins and needles for the Wii version.

[cold]

I never grew up with a TV and to date have not owned one.
What the hell is RPG?
Does playing games with girls count?

[trevor]

RPG = Role playing game.  So, most of the games you would play with girls without a TV might fit into this category   Games are games; I figure most people have had the most experience with video games, but a game's a game.

[cold]

Okay, well I've played Teachers pet, police officer / criminal, Authoritative father / disobedient daughter , uh, Prison guard / prisoner - which was basically " debbie does dallas  " except for the prison part and of course the familiar boss / secretary.
Other then RPG games, I've played solitaire version 5.1 on windows XP, monopoly, and backgammon.
Backgammon in my favorite though.
hey January, ever played 21 questions in the car? that's a real treat.

[Mhaddaka]

Roleplaying games would have to be my favorite. The game systems Iam most familiar with is D&D, Gurps, and, Iam about to try out Shadowrun.

As for computer games, I havent been able to get into them as much...but, the ones I have enjoyed when I played is Master of Orion, Prince of Persia...and Tetris.

[Steven]

I don't really play any games....I used to be into Age Of Empires II and Diablo II but alas those days have passed.

But I was thinking about that game Mahjong, with the little tiles, and what a bitch it must have been to set up back in imperial China...

[ebell]

Being perhaps the oldest one here(**gulp**), I've been a little out of touch with video games since some time around PS2.  I've played DDR which I enjoyed, and tried guitar hero...fun, but I think I should stick to piano!
Mostly I enjoy puzzle games...tetris is my favorite.  I am one of the lucky few to still own an original NES that actually works.  I sometimes even enjoy a game of duck hunt...For old times' sake.  I still love Super Mario Bros., and I'm looking for Super Mario 3 and Dr. Mario if anyone knows where I might find them!
More often than not, I prefer card games and board games such as trivial pursuit, scattergories, taboo, even scrabble...anything thought provoking.  I'm also a crossord puzzle and su-do-ku junkie.
Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go replace the masking tape on my glasses. 

[redpen]

Being perhaps the oldest one here(**gulp**), I've been a little out of touch with video games since some time around PS2.  I've played DDR which I enjoyed, and tried guitar hero...fun, but I think I should stick to piano!

Well, you're maybe not quite the oldest one here.  I was born in June.  And I've also been out of touch with video games for a while.  For me its been since the original playstation.  I figure if I got one of these new gizmos, I'd play it to no end and as such, my piano would gather dust (I've found the "Mutopia Project" to be an excellent online resource for finding free sheet music and enabling one to listen to the piece.  THe Wiki based IMSLP unfortunately has just been shut down, but they had probably 10s of 1000 of pieces.  ANything you could want from the public domain.  They'll be starting up again hopefully).  So I'm a bit of a throw back.

I still love Super Mario Bros., and I'm looking for Super Mario 3 and Dr. Mario if anyone knows where I might find them!

I had a NES and a number of games.  I haven't seen it around at my parents place in storage for a while, but then again I haven't looked.  I did have Super Mario 3.  THe thing is its a Japanese version.  That means all the text is in Japanese and I remember the game being prone to resetting on you.  But with that version you did have the ability to get any of those super suits for any level just by hitting start and select in the map scene (if my memory serves me correctly).  I'll take a look next time I'm out in Altona.  If its there, its yours if you want it. 

I'm also more into card games and board games.  I've been brought up with them.  Cheating too has been a constant among the generations in the family, so I'm an accomplished cheat if I'm so inclined.

But now, living away from much of civilization, I play Risk and chess online (I think my pen burst - but luckily my pocket protector has caught much of the ink).  Its all open so if anybody is into that kind of thing, you can challenge me at conquerclub.com.  I'm redpen there.  Just PM me.  Or if you like chess, I play at redhotpawn.com under the name redpen1919 (for some variation in screen names).  THere are links there to make a challenge.  If you can't find them, just email me (the address is in the bio).  In either game, you're likely to win.

Shaun

[ebell]

Well thank-you Shaun, I feel younger already...even if it is only a few months!  I would definitely challenge you to an on-line game, but sadly i've never played Risk or chess, if you can believe it.  The Super Mario 3 thing though, sounds fantastic...if one day we both actually make the long arduous journey into the big city to one of these events.  In the meantime, I will study the campus map, as I've never set foot on the U of M grounds.

I will definitely look into that sheet music...thanks for the tip!  Unfortunately my parents sold the piano the last time I moved.  Couldn't get it in my trunk to take to BC with me, and apparently it was in the way or some crap like that.  Regardless, I still have a mountain of music waiting for when i get the rare chance to play, and for when I finally invest in a baby grand.

Are we still talking about games?!  oops